“This Shi*s Gonna End With One Of Us Doing It.”
November 29th, 2021
Lombardi Lenny, Playoff Lenny and soon-to-be Offensive Player Of The Week Lenny (they’re all the same person) was on the phone after the Bucs’ knockout punch to the Colts yesterday.
Who was he talking to? It was NBC super insider Peter King, whose Monday column carved out a section devoted to Leonard Fournette’s four-touchdown performance.
After the game, there was chatter among Bucs players that Lombardi Lenny had a lot to say to everyone at halftime, when the Bucs trailed by 10 points and had just taken a knee with two timeouts in their pocket and 18 seconds on the clock.
‘This game will end with either me or you winning it. This sh*ts gonna end with one of us doing it,'” was Lombardi Lenny’s halftime message to Tom Brady, per King.
Did the big talk make a difference? Joe has no clue. But Joe is growing more and more impressed each week with Lombardi Lenny in the passing game. He appears to be more in sync with Brady, despite the occasional drop. And the Bucs phasing out Giovani Bernard and using Fournette more as a workhorse makes them more unpredictable, Joe believes.
Fournette is now on pace to catch 78 balls this season. That would rank second-highest in the history of Bucs football behind James Wilder’s ridiculous 1984 season. Michael Pittman was the last Bucs running back to rack up a big number of catches, 75 in 2003, as Brad Johnson checked down to him repeatedly.
November 29th, 2021 at 4:56 am
I like it!
November 29th, 2021 at 5:50 am
Rojo is clearly the better runner but his mind is not on the same page as Tom. if dropping balls is his issue, he can hire a coach and train overtime. im pretty sure he can afford it
November 29th, 2021 at 5:54 am
Lombardi Lenny is stepping up big time!!
BTW Joe, it was a ridiculous season by J Dub in 1984 – 85 receptions and 407 carries.
492 plays of offense. again 492 plays of offense by James Wilder also known as the Sikeston Train at Mizzou
That does not include the errant passes to Wilder or drops by him. So most likely over 500 plays of offense went to James Wilder.
That will shorten your career for sure.
GO BUCS!!!!!!
November 29th, 2021 at 6:01 am
Bucschamps, Rojo has already practised catching 300-400 balls a day, as has been documented before.You can google it. But so far it has not helped him. As has been evidenced by his play.
Brady and the Coaches trust Lombardi Lenny, that’s why he is the starter. It was Rojo’s job last year, and he lost his Job.
Rojo is an excellent runner, but nowhere near a complete back.
GO BUCS!!!!
November 29th, 2021 at 6:19 am
And to think this guy got cut by the Got damn Jags! Lenny is definitely a huge part to this team! Grateful for the Bucs taking a chance on him and props to him for getting his sh!t together and turning his career around
November 29th, 2021 at 6:30 am
seems like Rojos problem is mental. is he intimidated by Brady? fear of getting yelled at? maybe try meditation ? yoga? or read the book ” the art of not giving a fck”. cmon Rojo Lenny can’t do it all.
November 29th, 2021 at 6:36 am
Lenny Fournette has played himself into a nice contract for next year & beyond, HOPEFULLY with the Bucs. He’s the most complete running back that we have, and one of the most complete in the NFL IMO. That translates to VALUE & nice contracts.
I’m admittedly getting tired though of the checkdowns on 3rd down well behind the 1st down marker that depend on Lenny bulling his way through defenders to get the 1st down.
Bucs’ offense started very slow, and fell behind early once again. Our first 4 series: Punt (3 plays), Fumble (7 plays), Punt (3 plays), Punt (3 plays). We had 3rd-and-3 then 3rd-and-6 on those last 2 punts, but ended up punting because both were checkdown passes to Lenny that didn’t make it (one he caught; one he didn’t). Tells me that either the OLine isn’t doing a good job pass-blocking, or that our other receivers just aren’t getting open. In any event, we need to start games faster.
November 29th, 2021 at 6:37 am
With that performance, Lombardi Lenny should easily win the FedEx Ground Player of Week 12!
November 29th, 2021 at 6:44 am
Who we gonna pay in the off-season?
Lenny or Chris ?
November 29th, 2021 at 6:56 am
Bucs know ROJO is the future and that is why they have done everything possible to devalue him in his contract year, so they can sign him next year for far less $$$$-smart strategy.
November 29th, 2021 at 6:59 am
I have seen enough. Pay the man!
November 29th, 2021 at 7:27 am
Lenny, is a tank,when you think your down ,Here comes Lenny,! We need more of him!
November 29th, 2021 at 7:50 am
DR, you are correct but I don’t think it is the oline, it seems like Brady is getting the time, my theory is the routes are too deep and BL has to have Evan’s and Godwin shorten them. It takes time to run a 15 yd route. It doesn’t help when the so called #1 receiver isn’t looking for the ball causing 1st punt and Godwin stumbles over the white line and gets the ball knocked out for a turn over. If defenses are playing 2 deep safeties and remaining coverage is 8 to 10 yds out what options does Brady have? The return of AB will make a huge difference because he is the best route runner on the team. Gronk ain’t gonna last if he has to perform week in and week out like last two games.
November 29th, 2021 at 7:52 am
Brady may have been worried about his O line after the Marpet and subsequent Stennett injuries.But to my untrained eye Brady ignored OJ and ROJO much more open in the flat than some of the checkdowns to Lenny. Also saw Evans running open in the endzone. We got 5 Td’s from our running game and none in the passing game game in spite of a turrnover that gave our offense the ball near the twenty yard line. I don’t know what is wrong with Brady but we need more balls to be thrown past sticks to make first downs,IMO.
November 29th, 2021 at 8:02 am
@List
Here’s my question on the Evans drop, with all green in front of Evans why didn’t Brady do a better job of leading Evans?
November 29th, 2021 at 8:21 am
Rojo is faster and a better running back but Lenny is a better receiver out of the backfield….
I am also concerned with all the chekdowns & passes behind the line to gain….WR screens etc. What is going on here…..what happened to Mike Evans & Chris Godwin.
It seems Brady’s first choice is Lenny on many of these plays….
November 29th, 2021 at 8:22 am
I still believe that giving some meaningful playing time to RoJo is key to keeping Fournette at the top of his game. That last TD run looked just like the 3Q TD run in the Super Bowl. Nice reminder…
November 29th, 2021 at 8:26 am
GRIT
November 29th, 2021 at 9:17 am
@Bob in valrico Evans wasn’t even LOOKING for the ball on that play.
November 29th, 2021 at 9:19 am
A highly talented player fully sold on the team concept. Carries the rock, catches the check down, and picks up the blitz. He also seems to be becoming a leader on this team as well. Its a pleasure to watch this guy put in all the hard work, check his ego, and turn his career around. Lenny doesnt want to go anywhere else, and I see no reason why we couldnt find cap space for him next season.
November 29th, 2021 at 9:21 am
Fournette had an excellent game, but I like the way ROJO hit holes without hesitation. Let him run more to wear down the defense.
November 29th, 2021 at 9:27 am
Bob, did you watch the same game? It hit Evan’s in the forearm, he wasn’t looking on a 3rd & 6 play, Brady also threw to Evan’s in the end zone, the pass was slightly tipped and went right through his hands AGAIN. This is not the first tipped pass that has hit Evan’s in his hands he dropped. Why can Dbacks and linebackers catch these but so called HOF WR cannot? He is slow and not get in open space, Brady throws to a target if the target ain’t looking or there pass is incomplete. Same with Miller pass, Olsen said it during the broadcast, that was on Miller, Brady threw outside
Miller went in. Make no mistake with 3 min left Brady took offense into FG range, cudos to Lenny for sealing the deal. Brady is not a gun slinger, Bucs had that with Jamais, how did that workout? He is a game manager and that means you don’t always get fireworks. All you Evan’s lovers, when AB comes back Evan’s is your #3 wr.
November 29th, 2021 at 9:29 am
I still hate the way he tippy toes around. Even on the one TD he had where Evans was blocking for him at the goal line. He stopped short of the line and barely let the ball cross the line rather than running through the guy.
It’s really just a matter of taste I guess, but I much prefer a running back with the style of Ronald Jones where he refuses to get tackled backwards.
Fournette got it done yesterday, but he leaves a lot of yards on the field on a weekly basis by never fighting for more. He’s trying to avoid injury and wear and tear, and I get that, but at some point those hidden yards are going to matter. Ronald Jones pulls up one yard short of a first down running out of bounds on a first down play earlier in the year and everybody has a sh!t fit over it, Leonard Fournette lays down in a lump on almost every run that doesn’t involve wide open running lanes and everyone praises him as a hard runner? The double standard is infuriating.
We’re winning, so who am I to argue, but I feel like Ronald Jones is really getting shafted after the work he put in last year.
November 29th, 2021 at 9:35 am
Loved that we just handed it off – tough to run on the road.
If defenses continue to play us with 2 deep safeties and a light box. Our O needs to just stay patient and take what they give us. No reason we can’t score 35+ while controlling the clock and letting our D stay on the sidelines.
Go Bucs!
November 29th, 2021 at 9:55 am
got Bucs, I get what you’re saying, he tends to stutter step a lot. Don’t get me wrong when he gets a head of steam going he’s like a missle coming at you. Was it that he didn’t want to smash into Evan’s back? Who knows but there was a lot off traffic to pull up at that point but that last run is an Angry run candidate fo sho.
November 29th, 2021 at 10:13 am
BUCS played a pretty damn good defense with real good defensive backs. I don’t think any other team in NFL beats the Colt’s yesterday. You gotta give it up to the BUCS.
November 29th, 2021 at 10:20 am
He’s not perfect, but Lenny was GREAT in this game. Sounds like he called his own shot at halftime and then delivered with 20 seconds to go. #baller.
November 29th, 2021 at 11:18 am
with lenny basically now on the same page with tommy, he has actually got a chance for a 1000 yard rushing season…
slim shot with the way this offense is designed, but a shot…
and a shot is all you need…
he would need about 380 in 6 games…
about 65 yards a game he would need as an average over the next 6 games…
or maybe 2 big games and 4 average ones
November 29th, 2021 at 11:28 am
@list
Yes I did. And he had just cleared traffic and a ball delivered ahead of Evans would
have thrown him open and given him the more room to run. And you can tell
when Brady is nervous about the defense his first pass is too high even for the 6 foot five Evans. Five punts in the first half ,this offense sputters too much and Brady has been relying on the checkdowns too much. Brady has averaged only 5.63 air yards the last three games That is textbook game manager.
IMO. We need more from him ,maybe he is injured, but
I’m pretty sure he is not playing with the same determination and grit he is known for. Right now the offense,Brady included are making too many mistakes to sustain drives with these type of plays.
November 29th, 2021 at 1:17 pm
Bob- It looked like Indy was playing a lot of shell coverage deep. I can’t say I blame them. We rarely run the football with any consistency and Gronk was mostly absent the last 4-5(?) games.
You’re supposed to take what the defense gives you. Like you, I always look for more downfield throws with our talent BUT, I’d rather win ugly than give the ball away by trying to force things if he’s not comfortable.
November 29th, 2021 at 2:39 pm
Bob, when you get a chance, go back and watch Patriots/KC AFC championship, Pats/Tenn AFC championship, Pats/ Atlanta SB or Pats/Seattle SB. Pick one or two and you will see exactly how Brady wins and it’s flinging it downfield 5-6 times a game. Risk it no biscuit is a low % philosophy. It works once and a while when you have a very fast receiver like Hill.
November 29th, 2021 at 2:52 pm
Fanman,
I am also seeing a reluctance to go to very open OJ in the flat with nobody around him and he forced the ball into traffic and was nearly intercepted. ROJO was also open in the same left flat. I think he is not spreading the ball around and
missing opportunities for moving the sticks. AS for Lenny he is reliable but at 4.88
yards per catch ,I would be happier if routes were past the sticks on third down.
November 29th, 2021 at 3:01 pm
The funny thing is RoJo and Lenny have very similar catch / drop ratios.
But for whatever reason Lenny was given more changes to get right before RoJo was, and he made the most of it. He’s playing with great confidence. And it appears he was grown a lot mentally since last season. And I believe that’s a big reason he became starter. The halftime talk is a perfect example of his new maturity.
RoJo is still a better pure runner, you could see at least 2 plays yesterday where he was an inch or two away from bursting open a 50+ yard touchdown run. He’s gotta get his mind right. Which ironically is probably somewhat hard to do with such limited touches.
November 29th, 2021 at 3:07 pm
List, been watching football for a long time. I have seen what seemed like 20 passes to RB’s before. They were usually more elusive backs. But
passes to moving receivers was also part of the mix. What I am saying is I am not a fan of 3 to 5 yard pass to a stationary back well short of the chains on third down especially.
November 30th, 2021 at 5:03 am
Lenny has been working hard this season in hopes of inheriting a fresh new nickname. It is NOT Playoff Lenny nor Lombardi Lenny anymore. Having rushed 70+ yards in multiple games. Then you add in a handfull of receptions to those yards, sprinkle in the YAC. Lenny is just adding the cherry on top of the resume by breaking off the Colts Defense for 100 yards…all ground yards. I think it’s safe to say that Lenny is erecting a brand new, fresh out the oven Nickname…#7 LENNY LONGTERM!!! Because he wants that Longterm Contract from Your Tampa Bay BUCCANEERS!
P.S. You can use Lenny’s new well deserved Nickname in your next story. Just Tag me in it when you do, LOL. Just Joking…LET’S GO BUCS!!!
November 30th, 2021 at 6:26 am
It’s what you have between the ears and in the heart and guts that makes the elite players…. They’re all Professionals all top shelf phenoms…. What’s the intangibles that elevate the few is what the difference is.